Tag: Fernandinho

Midfield general: File: Fernandinho has been used by Pep Guardiola more than any other Manchester City midfielder this season (AFP Photo/Lindsey PARNABY)

Among a dazzling array of midfield options, it is the often unheralded Fernandinho who Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has relied on most in another stunning start to the season for the Premier League champions.

The Brazilian will face old club Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday as City seek to make amends from the only blip of their campaign so far, a shock 2-1 defeat to Lyon in their last Champions League home game.

If any reminder was needed over Guardiola’s influence, he was banned from the touchline that night.

Since his return, City have won nine and drawn one, a 0-0 stalemate away to Liverpool, of their last 10 games, scoring 29 goals and conceding just two in the process.

Although fulsome in his praise of the maturing centre-back pairing Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, Guardiola’s defensive philosophy is dependent on a team effort to keep the ball as far away from City’s goal as possible.

“Always we try to convince our players as far away the ball is from our goal, we are safe. It’s much, much better. The moment the ball is around our box, anything can happen,” said Guardiola this week.

“In 10 years I was always concerned, always focused, maybe more than any other thing, in defending well.

“The only difference is we do it far away from our goal.”

Central to that philosophy is Fernandinho’s ability to not just read the game and quickly regain possession, but also use the ball soundly as a springboard to City’s attack.

“There is always a relation. When you attack good, you defend well. When you defend well and are solid, you attack better,” added Guardiola.

‘Luckiest manager in the world’
Despite turning 33 earlier this year, Fernandinho has started all of City’s 14 Premier and Champions League matches this season, while the more creative talents of David Silva, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling have had to live with Guardiola’s rotation policy.

“Ferna would make any manager the happiest or luckiest in the world,” said Guardiola ahead of City’s 3-0 win in the Ukraine against Shakhtar two weeks ago.

“He is a joy to have as a player – he is very special. He will always be a special player for me to work alongside.”

Guardiola knows very well the dual demands of Fernandinho’s role having won the European Cup in his days as a player in the same position for Barcelona.

Fernandinho received arguably the highest praise from his manager when he claimed even Guardiola the player couldn’t force his way into the current City juggernaut given his form.

So far City’s failure to land Jorginho, who instead choose to follow Maurizio Sarri in the move from Napoli to Chelsea in July, to share the burden as the midfield anchor hasn’t proved costly.

Instead, Guardiola’s men show no sign of a slip in standards from their record 100-point Premier League campaign last season, as evidenced by a 6-1 annihilation of Southampton on Sunday.

It is the Champions League that remains the holy grail for City’s Abu Dhabi owners, though, and despite the Lyon stumble, another victory against Shakhtar will put the English champions well on course to make the last 16 for a sixth straight season.

Manchester City's Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure (C) celebrates with Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (L) and Manchester City's Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho (R) after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in south London on November 19, 2016.
Manchester City won the game 2-1. / AFP PHOTO / OLLY GREENWOOD / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho insists the FA Cup remains a priority for his side despite their bid to advance in the Champions League.

Last week’s thrilling 5-3 victory over French side Monaco has left Pep Guardiola’s side in a strong position to advance to the quarter-finals in a competition in which the coach has excelled throughout his career.

But before the return leg, City must face second tier side Huddersfield Town in an FA Cup fifth round replay, with a place in the last eight of that competition at stake.

And Fernandinho insists City are keen to add to their five successes in the FA Cup, the last one coming under Roberto Mancini’s leadership six years ago.

“If we win we are in the quarter-finals and after that we can be at Wembley,” Fernandinho told the club’s website.

“It’s extremely important because the FA Cup it’s a beautiful competition and we want to go as far as possible.

“The support of our fans in the FA Cup will be very important. For us the aim is to be in the final.”

City flew to Abu Dhabi for a spell of warm weather training immediately after the Monaco victory, returning to Manchester on Monday.

– ‘Looking so confident’ –

Guardiola is likely to rest key players, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit to bottom side Sunderland, for the replay although, given the depth in his squad, City are certain to field a strong line-up.

Fernandinho, 31, has proved particularly important for Guardiola this season as he has rotated his squad with the Brazilian used in a number of positions, including both full-backs spots as well as a variety of midfield roles.

“No matter what position I play, the aim is always to have possession of the ball, create supremacy, to allow the team to feel that we have more players in the midfield — to help create more passes and chances,” he said.

“I don’t know what position I will be playing from now on. I will try to play as often as possible as a midfielder, but for me the most important is the team’s victory and try to achieve a good position on the Premier League table.”

Huddersfield remain in contention for automatic promotion from the Championship, despite a weekend draw at Barnsley.

Manager David Wagner has also been rotating his squad and is likely to do so again for the visit to Premier League opponents.

“We are looking so confident and so strong at the minute that I am not concerned about the fact that we have another match,” said the German, who was assistant to his close friend Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.

“It’s another opportunity to test ourselves against a very good opponent.

“The players who came in for the first match gained a lot of confidence from the performance. They are very hungry to play again and show that they deserve a chance.

“We are not concerned about the number of matches. We played Tuesday when Barnsley were at home lying on the sofa, yet we were the team pushing right to the end to try and win it.

“It was good to see how we were fitness wise. It was a strong performance from the whole group and there is a really positive feeling in the dressing room.”

English referee Lee Mason (2L) shows a red card to Manchester City's Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho for his challenge on Burnley's Icelandic midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on January 2, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Brazilian midfield enforcer Fernandinho will serve a four-match ban after Manchester City lost their appeal against his sending-off against Burnley, the Football Association said on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old was red-carded for a two-footed challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson at the end of the first-half of their Premier League clash on Monday which City went on to win 2-1.

He will miss Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie with West Ham and the Premier League matches with Everton, title rivals Tottenham and West Ham.

It was Fernandinho’s third dismissal in six matches — one of those coming in a Champions League game with Borussia Moenchengladbach — and the decision clearly irritated manager Pep Guardiola, who gave a series of tetchy answers in an interview with the BBC and tried to change the subject when asked about it at a press conference.

“Fernandinho will serve a four-match suspension with immediate effect after his claim of wrongful dismissal was rejected today following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing,” said an FA statement.

“His suspension includes the standard sanction of an additional game as it was his second dismissal of the season.”